My Social Media Hiatus (Alt Title: Social Media Sucks)

A little more than a month ago, I told my mom and boyfriend that I was planning on taking a month-long hiatus from social media for all of August. Maybe I wouldn’t really have committed to it, but after they both told me they thought there was no way I could do it, obviously I had to prove them wrong. If you’re not a social media obsessed millennial like I am, perhaps this doesn’t seem like much of an achievement to you. But if you, like me, are afraid to even look at your screen time metrics because then you’ll have to grapple with the reality that you spent twelve freakin’ hours, yes, twelve just scrolling on Instagram Reels when you could have been doing something, literally anything, else, then you’ll know it's kind of a big deal.

I started doing offline Shabbats at the beginning of 2022 for a number of reasons, mostly to observe Shabbat, but also because I figured a “digital detox day” might be good for me. I expected this to be incredibly difficult, but truthfully it never was. The only time I ever longed for my phone was when I first woke up, when I’d usually scroll through Instagram for 20 minutes before dragging myself out of bed. Now, I just had to…. wake up. Once I got through that, though, the rest was cake. Fridays and Saturdays were always my most productive day of the week; I’d read, write, make art, bake bread (why yes, I am actually a domestic goddess, in case you didn’t know), give even more attention to my dog. My mind felt peaceful, a nice respite from the constant barrage of overstimulation that I’d gotten so used to.

My social media usage was really feeling especially out of control after my surgery. During my unexpectedly long recovery, all I had the mental energy to do was scroll through my phone. In an effort to be kind to myself and allow myself as much rest as my body needed, I was okay with the fact that I was spending every waking moment scrolling. Once I started reintegrating back into the upright world, however, I was finding it harder and harder to break that habit. My attention span was equivalent to the average goldfish or toddler; I could focus on anything for about thirty seconds before instinctively reaching for my phone. I felt addicted (and this is not a word I use lightly). I’d be sitting up at 2AM desperately needing to use the bathroom, telling myself, “Okay, I’ll finish watching this Reel and then I’ll go,” over and over again until hours had passed. I literally could not tear myself away. If you are ignoring your bodily functions in favor of using your phone, you have a problem.

I really did not want to continue living like that, truly feeling like a slave to the almighty Instagram. I wasn’t completely married to the idea of a month-long detox until people told me I couldn’t do it, and obviously I had to prove them wrong. In truth, this has ended up being one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. I thought I’d make it a few days and then really start to struggle but again, I never did. I expected loneliness, feeling left out of my friend groups. Pretty quickly, though, I found a solution for that: leaving my house and seeing my friends in the real world. Wow, groundbreaking, I know. I’ve probably spent more time with friends in the last month than I have in years, and it feels fantastic. If I want to know what’s going on with a friend, instead of checking their Instagram story or Facebook, I’ll just ask. I know, it feels very 2010, but it’s made me feel more connected to the people around me than ever.

The benefits continue. I have been so productive this month and I feel great about it. I’ve had several paid writing gigs (this makes me officially a professional) and worked on some personal projects. I’ve read tons of books. I’ve even started exercising (which, if you know me, you know is kind of a huge deal). But the biggest perk has been escaping from the state of constant frustration that I was living in before. When I’m online, I’m constantly feeling annoyed- by people’s ignorant political takes, by how much I’m bothered by cancel culture, by flagrantly false information and propaganda masquerading itself as fact, by how alone I feel in a world of opinions I just don’t agree with. Not being constantly inundated by ill-informed, non-nuanced, black-and-white political and social commentary has been blissful. Maybe this is more of an observation on the types of people I follow and the content that I choose to consume but finding this peace of mind has helped my mental health tremendously.

My biggest takeaway is this: social media is evil. Full stop. The number of studies proving that it is tearing apart the very fabric of our global society are innumerable, and the proof that it’s damaging the mental health and body images of young kids and adults alike makes me sick. Yes, there are benefits, but for me personally, they are far, far outweighed by its drawbacks. I’m now a day into September and I’m officially off the hook of my challenge, more than welcome to get back online. But so far, I haven’t. I know that as soon as I go back, I’ll snap right back to old habits. I could blame it on my own lack of self-control (and certainly that has something to do with it), but these apps are engineered by some of the greatest minds in technology and marketing to keep you glued to them for as many hours a day as possible. Clearly, they know what they’re doing. My intention, as of this moment, is to stay off Instagram entirely (as that’s always been the most soul-sucking platform for me), just using it to share my writing and logging off. I may allow myself some time on Facebook, but if I feel myself repeating old patterns, I’ll just get off again.

I’ve talked to a lot of friends this month who have also felt concerned about their own social media usage. Personally, I know that I was using social media to fill a lot of voids (loneliness, hopelessness, isolation, etc.) and maybe you are, too. If anything I’ve said here resonates with you, I would encourage you to think about taking a hiatus and seeing how it feels- maybe just a day, or a week. You might be surprised by the way it changes you. I certainly was.